Her Boys
by MarvelGeek
Summary: Bruce Banner is many things, a doctor, a physicist, the Hulk, an Avenger...but something people usually don't know is that Bruce is a father. When he left Betty he already had one son, Benedict, he left to protect them. But now with Betty's death, he meets the now blind teenage Benedict and the twin boys Betty had been pregnant with, Mycroft and a child with Down Syndrome, Iggy.
1. Chapter 1

Benedict Dimitri Banner was born first and he was the only child Bruce knew about. The little boy loved his father more than anything and Bruce loved his son. He would take the child to all his Boy Scout meetings, and the little boy was the ring bearer at Bruce and Betty's wedding. Bruce had finally started to live his life...and then the accident happened. He was forced to leave Betty and Benedict, he would never forgive himself if he hurt them.

If only Bruce had known just how badly he was hurting them by leaving. It was Benedict who discovered that his father had left first. The five year old had heard the sound of the door opening and he'd leapt out of bed, running down the stairs to get a hug from his Baba. Only to drop the yellow, stuffed care-bear he'd been clutching in one hand. He was just in time to see his Baba getting into his car.

Benedict ran as fast as he could to the door, throwing it open and stumbling over his own feet as he hurried down the path. Tears were pooling in his eyes as he reached the driveway but his Baba's car was already halfway down the street. He knew something was wrong this time, his Baba's face had looked sad and tear-stained.

"BABA!"

Benedict screeched with all his might as the retreating car disappeared down the street. The five year old ran out into the street to run after it, bare feet slapping against the pavement and his long sleep-pants almost tripping him several times. But he was too slow to catch his Baba's car. He finally just stopped running and stared forlornly after it.

"Hey Kid! Get out of the way!"

A voice shrieked to his left and Benedict turned to look at the speaker but his eyes widened and everything went black to the sound of screeching tires on the pavement.

-TimeSkip-

Benedict was permanently blind. When the car had hit him, he'd been sent flying almost fifty feet away and his head had slammed into the pavement at eighty miles an hour. It was a wonder that he was alive, even though he was 98% blind. No, he wasn't 100% blind, but the only difference that the remaining 2% did, was let him tell if it was light or dark. So it didn't make a difference.

It was only months later that Mycroft Robert Banner and Ignacio Bruce Banner were born. The twins were miracle babies, born a month early. Mycroft was totally normal in every way, shape and form. While Ignacio was not, the doctors diagnosed the newborn with Down Syndrome, only a few days after he and Mycroft's birth. Betty cried as she looked at all her boys.

Quiet and shy Benedict, the little turned six year old never let his cane leave his hand. She always felt a twinge of pain in her heart as she looked at the little boy, he had his father's dark hair but it was straight like Betty's and his wide chocolate colored eyes were Bruce's even though Benedict's were hazy and unfocused.

Loud-mouthed, little Mycroft, he was only a few weeks old but she could tell that he was going to be the talker. The little baby would babble on and on mindlessly. She had no idea what the infant was saying but it was always enjoyable for her to just sit and listen to him gurgle. He had her straight black hair but his eyes were a vibrant green color...just like the Hulk. That made Betty's heart clench in fear.

Then there was her youngest, Sweet and Innocent Ignacio, her little Iggy. He was undoubtably special but she loved him all the same. He was perfect to her, in every single way. He had Bruce's curly dark hair and the kind chocolate eyes she had loved about him. She pressed a soft kiss to the child's forehead.

She loved her boys more than life itself. She did everything she could for them. She was there when Mycroft won his first Science Fair. The boy was a genius...just like his father. He wanted to be an astrophysicist. She was there when Iggy had his first Ballet recital, he wanted to be a dancer and Betty would support him in every way she could. Like holding him to her chest and humming as he told her in sobs what the other kids had called him that day...retarded...stupid...it varied from time to time. She was there when Benedict wrote his first book in Braille. He wanted to be a writer and Betty couldn't be more proud. She did everything for her boys...so it was even more terrible for them when she was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

Benedict was seventeen years old while Mycroft and Iggy were just eleven. Benedict took over for her when she was in the hospital and Mycroft always went along with it for Iggy's sake. Her youngest didn't understand why she was so sick all the time and she was adamant that he shouldn't be told. She couldn't ruin his innocence...not like this. Benedict was the only one there when she took her last breaths. The seventeen year old had tears pouring down his cheeks as he touched every feature of his mother's face, trying to commit each and everything to memory. His mother, Betty Banner-Ross, died with a smile on her lips.

Benedict held both his younger brothers at her funeral. Mycroft hugged him tightly, burying his face in Benedict's waist and Benedict held Iggy in his arms, the little boy burying his face in Benedict's neck, hot tears rushing down both his younger brother's cheeks.

"Benny. I'm gonna miss Mommy."

Iggy croaked and Benedict rubbed the boy's back as the sobs wracked his frame.

"I know Ig. I'm gonna miss her too."

He crooned, as he freed one hand to smooth through Mycroft's hair gently. The tear eyed boy looked up at him but the expression was lost on Benedict as he only smiled sadly at his younger brother.

"It's going to be fine Myc. I promise...I'll take care of you, of both of you."


	2. Chapter 2

Mycroft Banner stared out the window, solemnly. The window pane was blurry from the mass of raindrops plastered to it, but Mycroft rested his forehead against it all the same. It was calmingly cool to the touch and the freezing raindrops were slamming against it rhythmically, it was extremely soothing to the eleven year old. He hated this...everything about this. Everything...from the way that Benedict was curled around Iggy, both clutching each other...to the stink of the cheap motel room they were now in.

He wanted to go home. But Mycroft wasn't stupid, he knew that his mother was dead and that without their mother, they didn't have a home. Benedict tried the best he could, but he still wasn't their mother. He didn't know what to say when Iggy cried or when Mycroft chattered aimlessly. But they loved their big brother and he was better than nothing. He just didn't see why they had to go live with their father.

Mycroft had never even met the man, he left their mother when Benedict was about to turn six and when she was pregnant with him and Iggy. Their wonderful father didn't even want to see them...he didn't care whether or not they were alright. Did he even know they existed!? Did he even want them..? What if he hurt them?

Mycroft frowned while flexing his hand...open...close...open...close. He was beginning to feel scared and frustrated again, but he forcefully pushed the feelings down. Things weren't good when he got scared or frustrated, he didn't like himself when he felt like that. The last time he got really and truly scared was the day that an older and much bigger boy decided to call Iggy a 'retard'. It wouldn't have been that bad, if the boy hadn't grabbed Iggy and tried to strangle him. In that one instant, he was terrified that he was going to lose his twin. In turn...Mycroft lost it.

His world just went black and he woke up a few hours later in the nurse's office. He didn't remember anything about what had happened...but apparently other kids did and they were happy enough to refresh his memory.

They told him with a bit of fear, how his eyes had flashed even greener than normal and how his skin had begun to flicker green as well. But that wasn't even the scariest part...the watching kids were terrified as Mycroft tackled the older boy twice his size and began to punch him senseless. The older boy's nose crunching under his fists, and then he began to slam the kid's head into the pavement, viciously laughing as he did so.

Mycroft was expelled that day, the only second grader ever to be expelled, from that school. They called him 'unhinged', 'mentally unstable', a 'monster'...but his mother just cried as she held Mycroft to her chest. It wasn't his fault...it wasn't Mycroft's fault that he was the way he was. It really wasn't.

"Mycie?"

Mycroft blinked and looked at his twin in surprise, Iggy had wrapped a pair of short stocky arms round his waist and his head was buried in Mycroft's chest. The eleven year old jumped in even more surprise as Benedict rested a hand on his shoulder. Could they sense his unease and fear?

"You're fine, Myc."

Benedict whispered and Mycroft nodded, still not entirely convinced. Something was wrong, the boy could feel it. He knew when things went wrong, and Benedict knew that about his little brother. So when he heard a distinct ticking from the other side of the room and felt Mycroft stiffen under his hand, the seventeen year old shoved both his younger brothers to the floor as a deafening explosion rocked the building.

It was moments like these that really made Benedict hate his blindness, he had absolutely no idea of what was happening. The only definitive he had, was the feeling of his little brothers' bodies protected under his own. When that was ripped away, he felt like he was slipping.

"BENNY!"

Iggy screeched and grabbed onto his big brother's shirt, Benedict lunged for him but he was pulled away by someone else. He was unbelievably frustrated as he whipped his head around blindly.

"LET HIM GO!"

Benedict cried as he tried to grab one of his baby brothers, he flailed angrily as a folded cloth was pressed over his mouth and nose. His head soon began to swim and the blind teenager dropped unconscious.

Mycroft lashed out furiously, kicking the shins of the men who were holding him. They ended up stuffing a gag in his mouth and throwing him painfully to his knees. The eleven year old whimpered through his watering eyes as he squinted painfully at the men who shoved him into something hard and cold.

"LEAVE US ALONE!"

He cried, but it came out muffled and garbled beyond belief, the masked men just smiled at him. Then he winced as a hard object hit him straight in the back of the head and he dropped to the ground like a stone.

"Ross will be pleased that he has the monster's spawn to experiment on."


End file.
